Flashback Friday: Dubuque family adopts orphan squirrel 55 years ago

One of the two baby squirrels survived and thrived in the family home, drinking from tiny milk bottles and befriending the family’s canary. Here’s how the TH reported on the story in its March 17, 1968, edition.

... HE-E-E-R-E COMES LUCY

Lucy the Squirrel still takes her 10 o’clock bedtime bottle, but at 10 months she’s a big squirrel and won’t take those daytime bottles anymore.

Lucy is the pet of the Donald Brauhn family, of Dubuque. The family named her after the Lucy character in the “Peanuts” cartoon strip because she also likes to get out and run.

Lucy and a sister, who has gone to squirrel heaven, came to live at the Brauhn household about 10 months ago. Lots of squirrels run around in the Brauhn neighborhood and one windy day last spring one of the Brauhns noticed a squirrel tail hanging from a nest high in a tree in the back yard. They kept watch and when the tail did not move in two days, Brauhn and his son, Donnie, climbed up the tree to see what was the matter.

They found mother squirrel quite dead and two very hungry, half-starved babies. They carried them down and took them into the house. The babies were too young to eat by any method but sucking, so the search began for a small-sized bottle and nipple. Mrs. Brauhn went to several drug stores before finding the miniature bottles with rubber nipples she bought and took home for feeding the two “orphans.” Filled with warm milk, the bottles were taken eagerly by the baby squirrels.

They thrived in their new environment until one day Mrs. Brauhn was away and Jacolyn, nicknamed Jackie, and Jolynn, now students at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and Donnie, 15, bathed the squirrels.

When Mrs. Brauhn came home, she found two sneezing squirrels with runny noses. The smaller and weaker of the two died by the second day. Lucy recovered.

Lucy has ways all her own. She must be watched closely or she takes a bite out of the furniture.

Lucy eats nuts, coconut in the shell, and fruit — especially tangerines. She takes water during the day and her bottle of milk at night. The Brauhns do not have to worry about Lucy running away, for she is very frightened of the outdoors. When Donnie takes her outside for fresh air, she clings to his shoulder with her claws.

Mrs. Brauhn says Lucy is quite intelligent. She knows who gives her the bottle (Mrs. Brauhn) and she refuses to take it from anybody else. Lucy also seems aware that Jackie is much fonder of her than is Jolynn and will sit on Jackie’s head, which she will not do with anyone else.

Happiness for Lucy is sleeping in the sleeve of an old sweatshirt. She snuggles into the same spot every night.